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Own Your Words to Gain Authority
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Own Your Words to Gain Authority

by David Hollis, Alex Wright
January 2024
Beginner
6 pages
12m
English
MIT Sloan Management Review
Content preview from Own Your Words to Gain Authority

Own Your Words to Gain Authority

Managers undermine their credibility when they speak for others too frequently.

How often do you find yourself voicing someone else’s ideas, thoughts, or demands at work? Whether you are conveying your CEO’s wishes to a colleague or explaining to your team that “sales needs an update,” speaking for others — what researchers call managerial ventriloquism — is a common practice in organizations. It can be valuable, and even essential, to fulfilling the role of a manager. But when done badly, it can harm managers’ credibility, damage company culture, and hurt their organizations’ reputation and profits.

The practice of invoking distant interests by making statements ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 53863MIT65308